Somewhere Out There
by Taygeta
Summary: After finding herself unsuccessful with a music career, Ally decides to leave everything behind. But escaping the past - especially when it involves Austin Moon - isn't easy. Auslly Fanfic.
1. Chapter 1 - Letting Go

**Somewhere Out There  
Chapter One - Letting Go  
**by Taygeta

**Author's Note**: My first Austin & Ally Fanfiction. I started hearing "Somewhere Out There" randomly and this came to mind. Hope you all like it. This takes places when the group is in their late 20s.

* * *

Time changes. Life happens. It's not that the friends you thought would always be there aren't there anymore. They are - it's just that it's different now. We all went our separate ways after high school, like a lot of people do.

Things like that can be the same, even when you're friends with people like Austin Moon, who fills stadiums with screaming fans. And Trish, who is now one of the top managers in the business. And even Dez, who is now an in-demand director and whose eccentricities outweigh that of Jean Paul Paul Jean. (And everyone loves him for it, and you constantly wonder why.)

And ten years later - teetering on the edge of the last of our twenties - there's me.

Ally Dawson.

I really tried to make it out there. I was a singer-songwriter who overcame her stage fright. I even had a couple of hit songs on the Internet and a record deal.

And everyone believed I would make it. I believed I would make it.

But I didn't.

* * *

Austin calls me every once in awhile, especially when he's in Miami for a show. I'm guaranteed backstage passes every time - no questions asked. I usually get them, but not for me. They're usually for my best Sonic Boom music student that year. It helps keep business going - and talk about a lesson in motivation.

"Austin Moon Tickets?! I'm practicing every day!"

"You should be practicing every day anyway," I would say, like a broken record to each student every year.

"Right..."

Love of music? Yeah, right.

Love of Austin Moon, floor seats, and backstage passes? Boom.

"You know, I could always give you more than a pair of tickets," said Austin, a few years after I had settled in as the owner of Sonic Boom and hadn't showed up at one of his concerts in Miami or otherwise. He arrived in the back door and snuck himself up to our old practice room. If he had walked in through the front door, he would have been mobbed. "I'd love it if you were there."

He was sitting at our piano, playing with the keys. There was a pretty melody he was playing that wasn't familiar to me. His entourage was somewhere downstairs milling around the instruments. Waiting. Waiting for him. Meanwhile, my dad's probably hoping they'll buy something while they wait. Even though he's been enjoying retirement since he transferred ownership to me, he still likes to come in and pretend he's still running the shop.

I pursed my lips as I sat beside Austin.

"I would. It's just that I had a few other things planned tonight and forgot that you were in town..."

He raised his eyebrows and threw me his cute "I don't believe you for a second" smile, "You? Ally Dawson? Not put something on a calendar and double check that calendar a million times a day? With a pro's and con's list?"

I looked away from him. It was still too easy to get lost in his eyes.

I felt his hand rest against mine gently.

"Ally, what's wrong? I've hardly heard from you. You haven't written anything in months..."

His touch, as always, made me want to reach out to him. But I couldn't. Not anymore.

I didn't belong.

I laughed nervously as I pulled my hand away, "Oh please, it's not like you need any more hit songs. You've written some pretty great ones lately."

"But the best songwriter I know is sitting right here and it's not me," he replied. At my silence, he said, "Are you okay, Ally? I know things haven't really worked out for you, but maybe - "

I turned my eyes to look at him seriously, "Maybe what, Austin? You're going to will people to love me and my music...that I perform? You can't guarantee that. If that was true I wouldn't be sitting here, don't you think?"

He put his hands on the side of my arms, "Ally, you are amazing. You just need to give it more time...don't give up. Maybe the world's just not ready for you yet. But they're never going to be if they can't hear you."

Once again we were too close. His voice was too sincere for this girl - woman - who had already lost hope.

"Ally, I -"

And so I said the thing that would make him walk away: "Austin, I appreciate the pep talk. But I'm fine where I am, okay? I don't need all that to be happy. Music is still a part of my life. Things are going good here. And um...and I'm even seeing someone, okay? His name is Rick."

There was an unmistakable look of pain in his eyes that felt like a kick in my stomach. His hands moved away from me and I felt suddenly cold.

He quickly tried to mask it all by saying, "Oh. I'm glad to hear that...that you're happy." And then there was the olive branch, "You know, he can come to the show, too? I might know some people to get even more tickets."

The humor was there, but the joke fell flat.

"He's not really into pop music. More of a classical music kind of guy," I said, leaving out the details where I wasn't really seeing this guy, it had only been a couple of dates with him.

"Oh."

A few minutes later Austin would make his good-bye, and when he hugged me, I remembered that hug we had that time we broke up years ago. How I didn't want to let go. How he didn't want to let go.

But we did.

* * *

A couple of years would pass without me seeing Austin. But I would get updates from Trish on the phone who made sure to walk the fine line. Dez, oblivious, would email me every once in awhile with some detail about a new music video they were working on together. I'm pretty sure he still had "Team Ally" shirts in stock. It was now actually a famous shirt of his - instead of being about me, it was about being "an ally," which I had to admit was pretty clever for his fashion line that he rolled out - Dezigns.

Rick and I would continue on dating in that time. He was an English teacher at the elementary school. I had met him through a set of parents who had invited him to their daughter's recital.

Despite not hearing from Austin, Trish stopped by with tickets to Austin's concert tour - the last one before his next album was going to come out.

"What happened with you guys?" asked Trish as we had lunch and caught up.

"Nothing, life happened."

"Is it because of Rick? He seems like a nice guy. Can't imagine that he and Austin couldn't get along, knowing the two of them."

So I confessed, "Rick doesn't actually know anything about me and songwriting or anything. He just knows that I own Sonic Boom from my parents and I'm a music teacher."

"Ally...that was a huge part of your life!" said Trish. "How does he not know about that? How does he think you get tickets to give away every year? Do you know much floor seats and backstage passes cost nowadays?"

"It's better this way," said Ally. "I don't want him to know about all that. That part of my life is over."

"I understand the songwriting, okay? I know how much it hurt that it didn't work for you like it did for Austin. But does the Austin part have to over too?" asked Trish.

Give it to Trish to state the obvious.

"I just didn't know how else to do it," I admitted. "Rick and I were hardly even dating at the time. I just - I don't belong in Austin's life. I didn't have the heart to write anymore and I couldn't just be there, feeling useless. Besides, have you seen the girls he's with? "

"Yeah, I've met them," said Trish looking unimpressed. "They make Dez look like geniuses. They fawn all over Austin. And even the ones who aren't like that, they're not you, Ally."

"Trish, it's just better this way..."

She looked unsure, but said, "If you say so..."

Rick arrived at the store the next day with a bouquet and a wide-grin. He looked pretty adorable with his brown tousled hair and white dress shirt and khakis.

He kissed me and I said with a confused smile, "What's all this?"

"I wanted to surprise you. You seemed kind of stressed lately, and I thought we'd head out for a night out for once."

Silently, I was glad he didn't know my stressing out was because of Austin being in town. Even though I knew there was no chance Austin was going to stop by - especially given Trish's delivery of the tickets the other day - him being in close proximity always meant there was a maybe. And I still wasn't sure how much I wanted that maybe to be true or not.

I looked at the flowers and smiled, giving him a hug. "Oh that's so thoughtful of you. Where are we going?"

"I can't take all the credit. Monica gave me tickets to the Austin Moon concert. Can you believe it?"

"Oh..."

"She won them in a radio contest, but got sick today. It's floor seats and backstage passes. I've always wanted to go to an Austin Moon concert."

I felt a sick feeling in my stomach, "Really? You did? You do? I thought you weren't really into pop music."

"Well, not so much anymore, but my sister was a huge fan when we were growing up. Jess followed him when he got big on the Internet and gave me a few of his songs and showed me a few videos. I always had to play it cool as the older brother, but I always thought he was talented. She's going to kill me when she finds out we'll get to meet him."

I felt myself panicking, "Huh..."

I always found Jess a bit annoying and I suddenly realized why. She would so be the fan that would have stolen and coveted an Austin Moon shoe when she was a teenager. Yet, suddenly I wish she hadn't moved to Wisconsin for school last year. She could totally go in my place if she hadn't.

He frowned, "You okay? I thought you'd be excited. You get tickets to giveaway every year."

"Oh, no. I am excited," I lied. "This is going to be...great."

End of chapter! Feedback appreciated!


	2. Chapter 2 - A Lie Blurring A Lie

**Somewhere Out There  
Chapter Two - A Lie Blurring A Lie  
**  
by Taygeta

* * *

While getting ready at my apartment, I called Trish.

"Trish, Rick got tickets to the concert. How can I avoid us actually 'meeting' Austin?"

I could hear the stage set-up in the background as she replied, "Backstage passes and everything?"

"His friend won tickets and got sick...so lucky us!"

"Um, I'm not sure. Can you run late? Maybe you'll miss the meet-and-greet part."

"Knowing, Rick? No. It's the part where he and Dad get along so well. He'll get his money's worth of the tickets - even though he didn't have to pay for them. "

"I can come out and distract you two?"

"Well, small problem..."

"He doesn't know I work with Austin, does he?"

"Noooope."

"How many lies have you told Rick?" asked Trish. "You're worse than me when I was sixteen."

"I haven't lied to him," I said. "I have just withheld a few facts."

"Oh, just like a huge half of your life - that's all," said Trish. "What does he think I do?"

"He knows you're a manager. I just didn't clarify what kind."

"Well I guess he's going to find out," said Trish.

"Well maybe it'll explain away the part where I get tickets every year..."

"A lie blurring a lie. Who ARE you, Ally Dawson? Me?"

"Don't say that," I said.

"Hey...who's helping you here?"

"I know...I know...and I love you."

"...and you owe me."

* * *

On the drive over, I kept on hoping we would be stalled by something or that parking would take a ridiculous amount of time. But, of course, the radio tickets also came with a parking pass.

"Isn't this great?" asked Rick as we breezed right passed cars.

"Perfect," I said. After a moment I tried, "You know, I'm not feeling too great...maybe that thing Monica I had, I caught...?"

"Oh I doubt it. She got food poisoning," He replied. "I wouldn't eat at that new sushi place in the mall if I were you..."

"Oh..."

"I'm sure you're fine. We'll just get some food in you after the meet and greet. Just make sure not to look all green in the photo I'm going to have to send to Jess."

"Right. I'll try not to." As we got out of the car, I decided it was time to confess - a little anyway. "So there's something I haven't told you."

"What?"

"You know how I get tickets every year to give to a lucky student?"

"Yeah...it's really nice of you."

"Well, it's really nice of...Trish," I said, feeling a little bad knowing that it was really Austin's generosity.

"Trish? But Trish is so..."

"Stingy?" I said.

"I was going to use a nicer word, but yeah..." he held my hand as we made our way to the elevator, "I'm confused."

"She...works with Austin...M-moon," I said, tacking on the last name before it sounded too familiar.

"What? Really?"

"Yeah, she's his manager."

"Oh, she's that kind of manager!" said Rick. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"Oh, I just...didn't think you would think it was a big deal. I mean, it's just Austin Moon... I didn't even know you liked his music until today."

"Well, just don't tell Jess - she's going to think we have an inside scoop on tickets or something." He wrinkled his forehead, "Even though I guess we kind of do...?"

"Um...kind of," I said. "I don't like really bugging Trish about these things. Well anyways I just wanted to let you know because I mentioned to her that we ended up getting tickets to go to the show and she wanted to see us beforehand."

"Well that sounds great," he said. "We're not going to miss anything beforehand, though, right?"

"I'm sure we're not," I smiled weakly.

I felt him squeeze my hand, "This is going to be so much fun. We hardly go out to anything like this."

I nodded and thought that I must be the worst girlfriend ever.

"Rick! Ally!" said Trish giving us a big hug and steering us off to the side. "It's so good to see you two. Ally told me all about you getting these tickets, Rick. How..fateful."

I gave her a stern look.

"I mean, lucky."

"I know, right? I mean, it's terrible that my friend got food poisoning, but I wasn't going to pass up on these tickets."

"Yeah...Rick here was a huge fan...back in the day...because of his sister," I explained to Trish.

"Oh...if I only knew," said Trish. "I would have made a bigger deal out of my job." I saw an odd glimmer in Trish's eye, "Your sister ever say anything about Austin's songwriter back in the day...?"

Trish glanced at me and saw my "I could kill you right now" look.

"Uh. No, just that his songs aren't as good as his early days. Truthfully I think she was more into the whole 'he's really cute' thing then the music."

"Of course," said Trish. "We've always had plenty of those fans. Well I know you guys have backstage passes and tickets to the meet-and-greet and all, but I figured that I could give you the best insider scoop tour then that old thing."

"We are still going to meet, Austin, right?" said Rick. "I just need to make sure my sister Jess sees a photo. She's going to flip out."

Trish gave him a wide smile, "Of course, of course. I'm his manager. We'll work that out perfectly."

Luckily for me, Trish gave us such a roundabout tour that we missed everything completely. Everytime we seemed anywhere remotely close to Austin, she promptly steered us in another direction. When it was pretty apparent that we were going to miss the show if we didn't get to our seats, she then "promised" that she'd arrange for us to meet him after the show.

* * *

"I really hope Trish arranges us to meet him afterwards. Monica also said she wanted to make sure I got a good photo so that she could say where she could have been."

I smiled, "Oh I'm sure Trish can arrange that. She is his manager after all."

We walked out to our floor seats, that were thankfully far enough that there was no way Austin could see us from the stage.

Of course it was an amazing show. There was lights and dancers and scene changes and video flashing in crazy complicated sequences. It was like Time Square multiplied by a billion hits actualized. He had come a long way from his mall tour days. Rick and I sang along to his songs and even danced along with everyone else. I had a feeling Rick was a bigger fan than he had been letting on.

His encore performance was a quiet one. It began with a piano being dropped down from the top on a platform. He was seated there as if he had never left the stage. I remembered the fiasco that was the piano and the helicopter. And, of course, as I thought that he started playing a beautiful piano version of "I Think About You". Even though he sang it to me then, it wouldn't appear until one of his later albums, one shortly after I had unofficially quit songwriting. I remembered seeing the royalty check a few months later and smiling. That was a song I knew that deserved to be heard by everyone.

It had obviously became a hit, as fans around us were singing along, cell phones waving in the air recording it all.

And even though there were thousands of people around me, and Rick was next to me - holding my hand even - all I could think about was Austin, and that guitar, and this song I wrote that he was singing. We were sixteen and this performance told me his heart understood mine perfectly.

It took a lot out of me not to cry. I suddenly wished there wasn't this distance between us, that it was just him and me again sitting by the piano in the practice room - like the last time I saw him before now.

As these feelings overwhelmed me, Austin began to talk out to the crowd, "I want to thank you all for coming out tonight. I appreciate all my fans out there - without you, I wouldn't be sitting here and I know you guys know that this is where it all began! This is the last stop on my tour. I always like closing it out at home. Miami, I love you."

The crowd roared. I heard girls around me screaming their love for him...and some guys too.

"This last song is for everyone who has someone special out there. It's going to be on my new album coming out in a few months, but I thought this would be the perfect time and place to sing it first."

As he began to play, I realized the sound was familiar. It was the same pretty melody I heard on the practice room piano a few years ago.

And then I heard the words:

_ I thought you knew that you were / Part of my fairy tale / Part of the story I've been writing all this time / Part of the meaning I've been trying to find / But now you're somewhere out there /And I can't get back to you / I know you're somewhere out there / I just want to get back to you_

When the song faded, I was still caught up in the moment, wondering if it was about me.

It wasn't until Austin said, "Good night, Miami!" and Rick shook my arm that I came to my senses.

"You okay?"

I nodded, numbly. "It was a great concert."

"Are you going to call Trish, or should I?" asked Rick.

Knowing that my hands were probably shaking, and without thinking, I said, "You can call her."

As planned, Trish told Rick that Austin wasn't actually feeling too great after the show - much to Rick's disappointment - and that she'd be happy to send along some autographed photos in the mail later for anyone we wanted.

I thought we were home free until we reached the edge of the floor seats and saw Dez had been sitting there the whole time.

"Ally?!"

"Dez..."

He gave me a big bear hug and said, "I can't believe I ran into you out here. I didn't even think I'd make it to the concert - I just flew in a few hours ago from a shoot in Brazil."

I heard Rick clear his throat.

"Oh, Dez, this is Rick. My boyfriend."

Dez shook his hand and gave me a look that made me know he was thinking about the Team Ally shirts. At this point in time, I'm pretty sure he wish he had on a Team Austin shirt on.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Dez," he replied. "A friend of Ally's from high school."

"Are you friends with Trish?"

"Well...'friend' is an interesting word," said Dez. "Frenemy might be a closer non-term. Austin's my best friend though."

An odd look crossed Rick's face as if he was just realizing that I knew an awful lot of people who were close friends of Austin Moon.

"Are you guys hanging out with Austin after the show?" asked Dez.

"Oh Trish told us he wasn't feeling too great," I said quickly.

"What? Ridiculous. He's always on Cloud NIne after a show, let me call him real quick," said Dez. Before I could stop him, he pulled out his cell phone, "Hey buddy - guess who I ran into out here? Ally! Uh..huh...Uh...huh Huh - Trish said you weren't feeling too great after the show, so I just called to make sure if that was the case. Oh, you're feeling better now...oh okay...yeah, I'll totally bring them to your dressing room."

At this point, Rick looked at me and said, "You know Austin Moon, don't you?"

Before I could respond, Dez threw his arm around me and said, "Know him? Without Ally, no one would know Austin Moon."

* * *

End of Chapter! Feedback appreciated!


	3. Chapter 3 - Unexpected Returns

**Somewhere Out There  
Chapter Three - Unexpected Returns  
**  
By Taygeta

* * *

**Author's Note**: Thanks for the great feedback and encouragement so far! Hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

I looked at Rick sheepishly, wondering how I should explain, but finding that with Dez I didn't really have a moment too. With Dez's arm around me still, he led us - well, me, really while Rick followed - through the remaining floor crowd to the entrance backstage.

As he walked through backstage, he periodically waved and gave high-fives to some of the crew.

"Lunch tomorrow, Sam?" He called out to a cute dancer, his tone a little flirtatious.

Sam had long legs that seemed to go on forever. She was still in her dance outfit from the show, a black glittery vest and short-shorts that didn't leave much to the imagination.

"Just text me the time, baby," she replied sweetly, before throwing me a glaring look.

I'm sure she must have been confused by my look of confusion. If I had my way, I would have just thrown him right at her.

Well, actually, if I had my way I would have been running out to the parking lot, hot-wiring Rick's car, and driving across state lines. But I was in some odd Dez vice-grip, while my boyfriend - who suddenly just realized I had been withholding some facts about my life - was trying to keep pace.

Every once in awhile Dez had to clarify (somewhat reluctantly), "Oh he's with me."

At the same time, I was trying to think about how exactly I was going to act around Austin. What do you say to someone you have been kind of not talking to for over two years? Someone who - despite all of this - would still give you floor seats and backstage passes to his concert because he knew how much it meant to your students and your business? Someone who would tell his best friend Dez that he wants to see you.

I wondered if Austin heard the part where Dez said he'd bring "them" up.

Every time I tried to turn my head to gauge Rick's expression in all of this, Dez kept on pushing me forward on our round-about Dez-like journey to see Austin. It was almost like Trish's tour with us earlier, where she even showed us how brightly colored the trash bins were so that people would make no mistake on what was trash and what were recyclables.

By the time we were near Austin's dressing room, it was pretty apparent that we were close by. There was a crowd outside milling around, tough-looking bodyguards wearing black and sunglasses were holding them back. When they saw Dez, they nodded and gave him a fist bump.

"How you doing, man?" said one of the bodyguards.

"Great, Alan," he replied. "She - and him - they're with me."

"All right," said Alan who then directed his attention to the crowd. "You guys need to step back okay. Mr. Moon will be out when he can to sign autographs..."

Before he could finish, I heard one woman squeal out, "Oh my God...is that Ally Dawson?!"

I heard another girl squeal out, "It is! Ally, can I get your autograph?!"

Bewildered, I looked up to see them with copies of Austin's first album, where I had been a main songwriter. How the heck did they even remember me?

I looked at Dez who kept on pushing us forward to the room. It was then that I realized that Dez hadn't been just leading me away from everything for no reason, he had been trying to make sure no one had a chance to recognize me.

But why would they care about me? I hadn't worked with Austin on that album in ten years and on any other songs for at least five. It was in this confused state of mind that we walked into the more relative calm of Austin's dressing room. I was so confused with what just happened that I barely registered that we had gotten inside until we were already in there and the screaming fans had died down.

I looked up from the floor to meet Rick's face. If I thought I had no idea what was going on, I figured he'd be completely out of the loop. But he was more distracted by the fact that there was Austin Moon standing in front of him, extending his hand and saying, "Hi. I'm Austin Moon."

Rick shook his hand slowly and nodded, "I - I know who you are. I'm, um...uh...Rick." After he found his name, he apparently remembered me and said, "I'm Ally's boyfriend."

I watched Austin's face, noticing that it shifted for a fraction of a second. His grin widened to make up for it as he said, "Oh, that's great! You're a lucky guy. Ally's a great girl."

Rick smiled, "I know it."

Austin let go of his hand and turned to me, "Ally..."

There was a moment, the kind of moment we used to have in the beginning of our partnership, when we didn't know how to quite hug each other - or if we should - or maybe in this case, _how_ we should.

So I didn't have my arms reaching upwards, wrapping around his neck.

So he didn't lean down to hold me so tightly.

It was a quick hug, where I remembered again how tall he was for a second as the side of my face leaned for a second on his chest, where I could feel the palms of his hands resting lightly on my shoulders. We pulled apart so fast that I wasn't even sure if we really hugged at all.

"It's good to see you, Austin," I said honestly.

"What are you even doing here?" he asked with a genuine smile, his eyes seemed to be taking me in, almost wondering if I was really there. "You always give your tickets away."

I smiled awkwardly and pointed over to Rick, "His friend won tickets and couldn't make it, so...here we are."

Dez scoffed, "And she was trying to leave here like a Ninja. She would have never made it through that crowd." He turned to me as if I should have known better, "Ally, you would have been mobbed."

Before I could ask what was going on, the door opened again and Trish walked in.

"Austin, your fans are crazy," was the first thing she said before she noticed that Rick and I were there. A look of relief crossed her face, "Oh thank God you're here, Ally. I tried calling you when I realized what had happened. I didn't find out until after I hung up with Rick."

I looked at them all and said, "What are you guys talking about? What is going on? There were people outside asking for my autograph."

Trish punched some keys on the tablet she had in her hands, "This happened a few hours ago."

A video played from the E-Beat News website and a heavily made-up female anchor appeared on the screen with an image of Austin from one of his latest concerts.

"Austin Moon, one of the hottest acts in the history of recent pop music, is closing out his recent tour tonight in Miami. His much anticipated album is supposed to be released this summer. Aside from some concert sneak peeks of a couple of songs on the album - that, of course, have made their way to the Internet - much of it has been underneath a veil of secrecy. Until today that is! E-Beat News has just gotten the inside scoop that the album will celebrate Moon's ten-year anniversary in the industry and will feature some never-before-recorded music by his long-time and long-absent partner Ally Dawson. The two parted creative ways under unspecified circumstances nearly five years ago. Ms. Dawson could not be reached for comment, but we'll be sure to track her down soon! Stay tune tonight for some highlights from Austin Moon's Miami concert. I'm Eve Alexander, and this has been a segment of E-Beat News...your music news whenever - and wherever - it happens...in a beat."

The video had featured a photo of me, a perfect reminder for his most rabid fans to remember me underneath their layers of Austin Moon fangirling.

I looked up at Austin, "Is this true?"

"I was figuring out songs for the album and remembered a couple of songs we never recorded and I thought they'd be perfect," he admitted. "I - I didn't know how to tell you...or if you wanted me to." He was selecting his words carefully, fully aware that Rick was standing near me. "Since, you know, you...retired. I was definitely going to tell you before you got a check in the mail."

At that point I didn't really care about the money, I needed to know one thing: "Austin, which songs?"

There were only so many we hadn't recorded, and I really wanted to believe that he wasn't going to name the songs he did.

"'Don't Let Go (Just Yet)' and..." Austin averted his eyes as he said, "'This is Where I Belong'."

They were special songs. Songs we promised we would sing together one day.

"Austin, how could you...?"

And I walked out of the room and into the crowd, leaving everything behind. Even Rick.

* * *

End of Chapter! Feedback appreciated! :)


	4. Chapter 4 - A Backstage Conversation

**Somewhere Out There**

**Chapter Four - A Backstage Conversation**

by Taygeta

**Author's Note:** Thanks for all the great feedback and support so far! This one has a little more Auslly.

**Disclaimer:** Austin & Ally are not my creative property.

* * *

I was somewhere backstage still. Sitting on some boxes, near the recyclables. I had been there awhile, absorbing everything that had just happened. I wasn't even quite sure how I had made it past the screaming fans waiting by the dressing room. I was thinking to myself that I should probably write some thank you notes to the security guards when I heard some footsteps walking toward me.

I looked up, thinking it was probably Rick.

But, of course not, it was Austin.

"What are you doing here?" I asked. Then paused, "How are you even intact? I'm surprised your fans didn't pull you apart when you walked by."

He shrugged, "I signed some autographs. Told them I'd be back. They were cool with it."

I raised my eyebrows as he leaned against a cardboard box near me, still in his shiny track jacket that he wore to close out his last number by the piano.

He revised, "Okay, fine, not exactly cool with it, but what were they going to say?" He tugged at his ear, "It's a good thing tonight was the last night of the tour, it's going to take me awhile to recover hearing in this ear."

I took a deep breath, "You still didn't answer my question. What are you doing here...?"

"I came to say I'm sorry. Look - I wasn't going to put that music on the album unless you said yes. It's just the press must have gotten leaked about the last few songs and I - I don't know. I just didn't have time to figure out how to even bring it up."

Austin's words made my heart hurt a little less, but it still hurt.

"Austin, as much as I could probably use the money, I don't know how you could think that I could let those songs go? Your career's hardly on the line - I don't need to try and get you back onto Starr Records or something," I reminded him and then laughed, "God, that was a long time ago."

He nodded, "Yeah...it was. Like ten years ago...which is why I wanted to make this album so special." He stepped closer to me and sat down, "Ally, I wasn't just going to ask if it was okay to use those songs. I know you better than that."

"Really?" I asked. "Because that's what it sounded like to me."

"What I want - " he said slowly, looking at me for a second longer than I was anticipating. When I was beginning to get a little nervous, realizing how close he was next to me, he continued, "What I was going to ask - you - is if you could sing them with me."

It was my turn to stare back at him. I felt my mouth fall open a little, but I was absorbing everything he was saying all at once. I wasn't exactly sure how all this had unfolded. Just the other day I was so thankful that I was going to be nowhere near his concert, and here he was - asking me to sing with him...again.

"Austin, I - I don't know what to say..."

Everything in my life had been so quiet lately and it was nice. It wasn't that I thought singing with Austin would change all that, but I knew that it could in ways good and bad.

Then I finally asked, "...why?"

He smiled and shook his head, "What do you mean, why? Ally, it hasn't been so long that you've forgotten, right?"

"Forgotten what?"

"'There's no way I could make it without you?'" he said incredulously, as he quoted one of our old songs. "How could I do an album celebrating how long I've been in the industry without you in it?" Then I heard this sadness in his voice, "Even if it's okay with you that I'm not in your life, you'll always mean something to me, Ally..." Before he let that sentence hang too long he quickly added, "I mean, without you I wouldn't have this music, this life I'm living...this dream."

I sighed and said awkwardly, "Austin, I know...what we mean to each other...I mean, about music. But I don't know if I can put myself out there again..."

"What are you so afraid of?"

I was old enough to name it honestly now, "Hope - that I can make it, that people can see me for me...not because of you."

"That was never true, Ally...they just weren't ready for you..."

I shook my head, "No, it's true. I was always in your shadow. I started at the same time Kira did and she hit the ground running. And I know Jimmy's her dad, but I know he gave us both an equal shot. Now she's on her third international tour; she emailed me from Brazil the other day asking if I had gotten back into songwriting. But Austin, I just can't...I can't keep on writing songs for other people to sing. I'm not fifteen anymore and hiding behind the curtains or falling apart on the TV screen. I know what I wanted and I know I didn't get it. And I need to learn that that's okay - that there are other dreams and other reasons to be happy."

At this point, Austin was looking at the floor and when I stopped talking he looked up and said, "Like Rick?"

I smiled, "He's a nice guy...really sweet." I sighed, "Too nice of a guy to find out all this stuff about me this way."

Austin's eyes widened, "He doesn't know about any of this?" He laughed, "And I thought he was a fan."

"I didn't even know he was a fan of your music until today," I replied.

Austin looked suddenly confused, "I don't know how he could not have known that we worked together on music, that that's why I got to where I am Did he not have the Internet in high school?"

I laughed, "Another thing I'd like to point out. I've been able to walk the streets of Miami without anyone ever knowing I was the same Ally Dawson who wrote songs for Austin Moon at the beginning of his career." I shrugged, "Which is a sign that you should just make another great and fun album...your fans are going to love it. They always do."

"But only because of you," he insisted.

"Austin, think about it - I haven't written anything for you in years and you're still here. Maybe once upon a time, but not anymore."

He sighed and then resigned, "Can you at least think about it for a few days?"

I nodded, figuring I owed him that much, even though I already knew my answer.

He smiled, "Good."

He stood up and then reached out his hand to me, to help me up.

I looked at him and then down at his hand with a little reluctance, but then put my hand into his. I felt the familiar steadiness of his grip as I stood up and then suddenly, I felt like I was being swept up. That's when I found myself in his arms, in the familiar tightness of his hug.

I stood there holding him too, thinking that our quick hug earlier had felt like nothing, that this - this hug - was the real "Hello" hug...the one he would have given if Rick hadn't been in the room, if time - and my actions - hadn't pulled us apart for so long.

I heard him say quietly, "I've missed you, Ally."

And I wanted to tell him the same thing, but just when I was going to, I saw Rick in the distance staring at us.

* * *

End of Chapter! Feedback appreciated.


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